Junk mail, the original spam, can be a good deal trickier to keep at bay than other unwanted messages. You can't stop it entirely, but you can chop down the major offenders with some helpful opt-out tools.

Not all of the sites' offerings and rules are obvious, so read Ars' take for additional details, smile-inducing writing, and background on the organizations that excel at colorful, uninvited pitches.

We have ourselves, over the years, come across a few other sites to help you trim down your original inbox.

More Junk Mail

The "We really aren't intentionally annoying" section of the Direct Marketing Association is a Mail Preference Service for the largest direct marketing alliance in the U.S. Signing in and opting out removes catalogs and newsletters from companies you don't do business with. (via World Privacy Forum)

"If the former residents of your house neglected to fill out a ‘Change of Address Form' or it expired, you can fill one out for them. You must fill out a card for each unique last name."
"On the card write ‘Moved, Left No Forwarding Address' as the new address. Sign your own name and write on the form ‘Form filled in by current resident of the house, (your name), agent for the above'. Once submitted, this information will be entered into the U.S. Postal Service's National Change of Address (NCOA) database and remain active for a year and a half."

Credit Card Offers, Redux

The Big Three credit bureaus—Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax—maintain a mailing list of clients who have used their report services (because you loved credit rating bureaus so much already). Luckily, the New American Dream site's junkmail section advises that the bureaus offer a toll-free number one can call to remove your home and identity from their third-party hand-outs: 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688). Image via seishin17.

"Explicit" Mail

The U.S. Postal Service tries to be a neutral party when it comes to the relationship between you and those who send you mail. The only exception is when the stuff arriving in your mailbox is sexually explicit. You can grab Form 1500, "Application for Listing and/or Prohibitory Order," from the USPS' PDF forms listing (Google Docs version here), fill it out, file it, and watch the rough stuff disappear.

Coupon Packs

Val-Pak, Carol Wright, and ADVO offer up the bundled packs of coupons that show up just when you feel like you've finally gotten your paper mess cleaned up. Obviously.com lists the big three coupon opt-out methods in their junkmail how-to, along with many more junkmail avoidance ideas.

Charity Solicitations

You were in a giving mood once, but some charities take that good-natured moment and drive it into the ground with endless mailings from then on out. From a previous post on charity mail, the related links for which have both gone dead:

So you donated some money to charity last year, and now your mailbox is full of envelopes stuffed…
Read more Read more

Bennett Weiner, chief operating officer of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, recommends also taking other steps like giving larger gifts to a few organizations rather than smaller donations to a number of charities and sending a letter letting the charity know you don t want your information given out. You also could ask the other charities by mail to stop contacting you. Be sure to include the original mailing label, which often has information needed to process your request.

Which big targets or useful utilities did we miss? Hit us up with ideas in the comments and we'll update the post.